By Kang Seung-woo
Does South Korea need 60 in-development F-35s just for the sake of boosting Air Force pilots’ bragging rights at the risk of upsetting the future force structure?
They are supposed to replace an aging fleet of F-4s and F-5s, the low portion of the high-low fleet structure. Then, in 10 to 15 years time, what will Korea need to replace its F-15Ks?
More F-35s, or F-22s? This begs the wisdom of the current purchase plan and experts advise Korea against putting all its eggs in the same basket, saying buy some F-15 SEs or Eurofighter Tranche 3 Typhoons before going for F-35s.
Experts question if the Air Force needs such a large number of the low-observable aircraft, given that the military has yet to establish a war-fighting doctrine with its new combat planes.
“As it is unclear on how to fight with the new aircraft if a war takes place, is there any country in the world that would just purchase 60 stealth-proven fighter jets,” said Kim Jong-dae, chief editor of Defense 21 Plus, a monthly military magazine.
“Some say we need 120 stealth jets, while others say just 10. Due to an absence of a war-fighting doctrine, there is no standard to judge which is right.”
Others taking part in the bid to secure the 8.3 trillion-won F-X III contract are Boeing with its under development F-15 Silent Eagle and the European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company (EADS) with its Eurofighter Tranche 3 Typhoon.
The final bidding for the competition began Tuesday and the Bethesda, Md.-based company is seen as a front-runner on the back of its low-observable performance.
According to Lockheed Martin, the stealth aircraft is able to penetrate the heavily defended airspace of North Korea and hit targets of interest at low risk.
But Kim said its promotion is exaggerated.
“What is widely talked about the F-35 is that it solely flies to North Korea and beats the enemy, which blows people’s minds,” he said.
“But no aircraft singlehandedly fights in enemy territory in modern war, which includes early warning aircraft, electronic warfare aircraft and Tomahawk missiles.”
Critics, who claim stealth capability is not the be-all and end-all, say if a stealth fighter opens its internal weapons bay to attack enemies, it will give away its position on radar.
Since the multinational program hit the road in 2001, it has faced numerous cost overruns and technical problems, which may prohibit Lockheed from meeting Korea’s anticipated delivery timeline.
According to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA), it plans to start bringing in fighter jets from August 2017, but the acquisition agency expects to see the F-35’s full production rate in 2019.
Kim said that rather than gambling on an under-development product, Korea needs to stick with a proven commodity.
“Whichever aircraft wins the F-X III competition, it will provide Korea with an active strategic deterrence,” he said.
He added that if Korea is in need of stealth strategy, it had better purchase the F-35 on a small scale and wait and see until the low-observable plane is fully developed before purchasing more.